Gavin Mortimer Gavin Mortimer

Islamic extremists would welcome the election of Eric Zemmour

Eric Zemmour (Photo: Getty)

Eric Zemmour enjoyed a propitious weekend as he embarked on his first official overseas visit as a presidential candidate. It began with the endorsement of Philippe de Villiers, an influential businessman and political commentator (and the brother of Pierre, the chief of the defence staff who quit in 2017 after falling out with Emmanuel Macron).

De Villiers appeals to the more sophisticated senior conservative voter and he has carved out a reputation for himself in recent years as a pungent critic of Islam; among his oeuvre is the best-selling book, Will the church bells still ring tomorrow?. In explaining why he has thrown his support behind Zemmour, de Villiers said that he is the ‘only candidate with the judgment and courage to talk about civilisation.’ The pair’s common enemy is Islam and de Villiers believes that European civilisation ‘is in peril’. He added: ‘I have the impression that my country is going to die and I don’t want that.’

Presenting a unified front, de Villiers and Zemmour flew to Armenia to attend a ceremony for the victims of the 1915 genocide when the Ottoman Empire was responsible for the deaths of an estimated two million people. ‘One must visit such places to understand the origins of our civilisation,’ said Zemmour.

At the same time that Zemmour was in Armenia news emerged in France of an incident last Wednesday in Nanterre, just west of Paris. Accoding to Le Figaro 30 Catholic worshippers were surrounded by a mob as they took part in a torchlight procession to celebrate the Immaculate Conception. Insults were hurled, the Catholics were reportedly told ‘this is Allah’s territory’ and there were threats to ‘slit your throats in the name of the Koran’.

The security forces could go a long way in ensuring Macron wins a second term

Zemmour responded to the news with a tweet

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Gavin Mortimer
Written by
Gavin Mortimer

Gavin Mortimer is a British author who lives in Burgundy after many years in Paris. He writes about French politics, terrorism and sport.

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